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Sunday, August 7, 2011

Skittles Quilt Top

In between the raindrops this morning I managed to get some pictures of my Skittles quilt top which I finished up this week. See that bit of clear sky? It was there for approximately 3 minutes and its gone again, the rain is back to pelting down :-( Seriously, its like November out there. Sorry this pic is so dark, its the best I could get. You'll get a better idea of the colours further down in the indoor pics!


It feels like I have been making this quilt top forever but in fact, its actually a very quick make. I just did bits and pieces of it here and there over a few months, but if you sat down to make it you'd have the top pieced in no time. I used Kate Conklin's pattern and it uses the "stack and slash" method which is very quick and lots of fun. It really suits a quilter like me who is looking for low stress quilting rather than needing to have pinpoint accuracy in blocks. It's also incredibly economic in terms of fabric usage - because of the way the blocks are constructed, you are Linkslashing across big blocks rather than cutting squares/rectangles etc from fat quarters, so there is really suprisingly little waste. So, if you like this kind of look, which I do, I would definitely recommend checking out this pattern. It includes a second pattern along similar lines and measurements for both lap and baby size.

The first stack of blocks I "slashed", I made my cuts quite evenly - but after that, I made them really randomly, going in the same and then different directions and I love the randomness and unevenness of how they work:


I used some of the purple and blue fabrics from the Central Park line and am totally delighted with how they worked together. The original pattern is in a purple colourway too which I think influenced my choices here, but as soon as I saw those trees and the big flowers in Central Park, I knew they were made for this :-)

Next decision is how to quilt this one. I could outline quilt the blocks and handquilt around each fabric slash as in the original pattern. But I've never handquilted before so I would be a bit nervous about it. And I would need to source some perle cotton somewhere. Or I could FMQ it which I'm leaning towards as I love the texture. One way or the other, I still have to piece a backing for this one before I can cross that bridge so I'll keep mulling it over - but let me know if you have an opinion, as always!

Linking up to:


{Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations Fresh Poppy Design Sew Happy Geek

16 comments:

  1. It looks great Sarah! I definitely want to try that stack and slash method. :)

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  2. Love how this came out, that stack and slash thing sounds like it could be quite fun and theraputic all at the same time!

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  3. Very pretty! I'm going to try stack and slash on my next quilt, I think :)

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  4. Very cool! I am more a random kind of person myself,so will definitely give this method a try in the future.

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  5. Gorgeous quilt Sarah! I've been shivering away here today! Can't believe I'm putting the c.heating on in August! Jxo

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  6. cute quilt! Kate's patterns are always so fun. and Central Park is one of my favorite lines!

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  7. Sarah,I have awarded you the Happy 101 blogger award! Stop by my blog to check it out :)

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  8. I wouldn't have a clue as to how to quilt it so I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide.

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  9. Love this quilt top, Sarah!!! It's so pretty!! :)

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  10. What a good looking quilt top, I'm actually looking at one of her patterns right now, and will probably do that next. Just deciding on the fabrics of course.

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  11. Looks fantastic! I have this pattern too, and seeing yours really makes me want to make it! (I think hand quilting would be awesome)

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  12. Beautiful quilt! Love that you are a "low stress" quilter. Sounds about like me.

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  13. Oh I just love this! Its so much fun, I would be FMQing this, but hand quilting is always an awesome choice!

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  14. It looks gorgeous! I'm so glad you enjoyed the pattern - its meant to be a fun one. I love the way you let loose with the angled cuts. I think FMQ would look and feel great, but I'll be interested to see what you decide.

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  15. This is one of my favorite Kate patterns! Her quilts are so fun to put together.

    I love the look of FMQ against the sharp angles of the piecing. But I'm also on a handquilting kick... Perle cotton is wonderful to quilt with and very forgiving too.

    Hmmmm... how's that for non-committal advice?

    Jennifer :)

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  16. I just wanted to let you know I've featured your quilt top link today on SewHappyGeek!
    Thanks for linking up! :)

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